Missing and Murder Indigenous Women/Persons (MMIW/P) refers to an epidemic of violence against American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) women and people. When compared to any other demographic in the United States and Canada, AI/AN women disproportionately experience all forms of violence and sexual violence. The term MMIW began as a social media hashtag to raise awareness for the crisis. As a policy issue, MMIW refers to the ongoing efforts to reduce violence against AI/AN women, prosecute crimes when they do occur, and provide culturally-appropriate services to victims and their families.

• On October 10, 2020, Savanna’s Act and Not Invisible Act were signed into law to address the MMIW crisis. Savanna’s Act (named in honor of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, citizen of the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota who was murdered in 2017). Savanna’s Act aims to improve MMIW data collection and require the Department of Justice to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols to address missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.
• The Not Invisible Act of 2019 created an advisory committee on reducing violent crime against Native people. The advisory committee is composed of Tribal leaders, law enforcement, federal partners, service providers, and survivors. Recommendations from the Not Invisible Act Commission can be found here. NCAI supports the findings in the Not Invisible Act Commission Report and urges the federal government to make them policy.

Despite the federal trust obligation to protect Indian communities, violence against Native women in the United States has reached epidemic proportions and greatly exceeds that of any other population of women in the United States. On a daily basis, this violence threatens the lives of Native women and the future of Native people.

While there is a great need for more and better data on where violence against Native women occurs, the information available suggests that violence against Native women tends to be perpetrated by non-Native men. In other words, “while the majority of rapes and sexual assaults against other women were intra-racial, victimizations against American Indian and Alaska Native women were more likely to be interracial.”****

While many issues need to be addressed to confront this human rights crisis, it is clear that limitations placed on tribal government jurisdiction by the United States are a key contributing factor, with non-Native perpetrators falling through the cracks in the system time and time again. NCAI supports congressional restoration of tribal authority to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes on tribal lands. Additionally, NCAI supports national legislation and policy that contains tribal specific provisions that would provide tribes with the resources needed to prosecute violent crimes committed against Indian women and to adequately serve Native victims, as well as enhance tribal sovereignty. With proper authority and adequate resources, tribes can restore safety in their communities and heal them from the violence, pain, and trauma they have endured over generations.

NCAI has been actively involved in the development of the tribal provisions of VAWA in the past reauthorizations of the bill. Each time VAWA has been reauthorized, it has included important provisions aimed at improving safety and justice for Native women. NCAI supports future reauthorizations, and the continued restoration of tribal sovereignty and provisions for it. For more information on NCAI’s priorities related to VAWA, please visit Issues and Priorities Regarding the Implementation of VAWA.

VAWA was signed into law by President Clinton on September 13, 1994 as Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. VAWA increased criminal penalties and provided grants to address rape, sexual assault, domestic abuse and other gender-related violence.

Since its initial passage, VAWA has been reauthorized four times: 2000, 2005, 2013, and 2022. Each reauthorization has increased tribal authority and resources to protect Native women and communities:

• 1994:
  • 4% dedicated funding stream for federally recognized tribes to address the needs and circumstances of violent crimes against women.
• 2005:
  • The Safety for Indian Women Title recognizing the unique legal relationship of the United States to Indian tribes and women and authorized the creation of a single VAWA tribal grant program.
  • Increased the dedicated tribal funding stream to a minimum of 10%.
  • Added dating violence as a new purpose area.
  • Created a Deputy Director for Tribal Affairs position
  • Mandated annual tribal-federal VAWA consultations.
• 2013:
  • The Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction (SDVCJ) affirmed inherent tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians committing domestic violence, dating violence, or certain violation of protection orders on tribal lands.
  • Provided increased funding for Tribal Coalitions through the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).
  • Recognized sex trafficking as a new purpose area under the tribal grants program.
• 2022:
  • Expanded special Tribal criminal jurisdiction (STCJ) to cover non-Native perpetrators of sexual assault, child abuse, stalking, sex trafficking, and assaults on Tribal law enforcement officers on Tribal lands.
  • Authorized a pilot project to enhance access to safety for survivors in Alaska Native villages.
  • OVW issued an interim final rule to reimburse Tribes for expenses incurred in exercising STCJ, which will permit OVW to administer the Tribal Reimbursement Program starting in 2024
  • Increased culturally-specific resources and support for survivors and communities.
  • Addressed online harassment and abuse and combatting cybercrimes.

The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) supports lifesaving services for victims of domestic violence and their children, including emergency shelters, crisis hotlines, counseling, and programs for communities throughout the United States, American Indian and Alaska Native communities, and territories. First authorized in 1984 and administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, FVPSA is the only federal funding source dedicated to domestic violence shelters and programs. The 2010 authorization of FVPSA created and permanently funded the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center on Domestic Violence.

FVPSA expired in 2015 and must be reauthorized with key improvements. The U.S. House of Representatives reintroduced the bipartisan Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (FVPSA Improvement) on April 13, 2023. The FVPSA Improvement Act includes key enhancements to increase the funding authorization level, expand support for and access to culturally specific programs, and, among other things, strengthen the capacity of Tribal Nations. We urge Congress to fund FVPSA.

Since its creation in 1984 through VOCA, the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) has been the federal government’s primary funding source for supporting crime victim compensation and assistance. Each year millions of dollars are deposited into the fund from the penalties assessed against convicted criminals. The CVF was founded on the basic premise that money from federal criminals should be used to help crime victims.

The VOCA statute allocates funds made available from the CVF for a host of purposes, including the Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside (TVSSA) program which provides support to Tribal communities to enhance services for victims of crime through a formula grant program.

Deposits to the CVF fluctuate annually based on the cases that the Department of Justice successfully prosecutes. Deposits have been low for several years, impacting the balance of the CVF. It is important to have money in the CVF to provide a buffer for lean years. Unfortunately, if there are too many lean years in a row, the CVF will not be able to provide that buffer. That is the current situation. Because funds in the CVF are very low, the amount Appropriators will release is low and as a result, the funding allocated to tribal programs is drastically reduced.

While the VOCA grant allocation of $1.9 billion that was included in the final FY23 budget essentially level funds VOCA, the proposed $1.2 billion in President’s FY24 budget and the FY24 House and Senate CJS appropriations bills is a 40% cut, as compared to FY23. States have already begun to implement significant cuts, with some cutting more than 60% in the current year alone. At this proposed funding level, thousands of victim service providers across the nation will be forced to layoff staff, cut programs, and/or shut their doors. The impact will fall hardest on the smallest programs, particularly programs in rural communities, low-income communities, and Communities of Color. Potentially millions of victims nationwide will lose access to lifesaving and life-sustaining child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and other victim services. Without access to these critical services, the real-time impact will not only be felt by individuals and families, but also in communities nationwide. It is important to note that, after being kept in isolation due to the pandemic, many survivors are just now coming forward seeking services, and losing access now will further set back their healing and safety.

Victim service providers across the country have worked diligently with private donors and with state and local lawmakers to secure funds to address increased need and to provide a buffer if VOCA grants are cut by 40%, as anticipated based on the House and Senate CJS Appropriations bills and the President’s budget. However, even programs that have been successful in securing state, local, and/or private funding to protect against VOCA decreases simply cannot absorb cuts of this magnitude.

Given the dire potential consequences, on behalf of the victims and survivors we all serve, NCAI asks that Congress invest adequate funding for VOCA in the final FY24 Appropriations budget.

The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TLOA) is a law signed into effect by President Barack Obama that expands the punitive abilities of tribal courts across the nation. This law allows tribal courts operating in Indian Country to increase jail sentences handed down in criminal cases over Indian offenders.

The purposes of the Tribal Law and Order Act are to:

• Clarify the responsibilities of the federal, state, tribal, and local governments regarding crimes in Indian Country;
• Increase coordination and communication among federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies;
• Empower tribal governments with the authority, resources, and information necessary to safely and effectively provide public safety in Indian Country;
• Reduce the prevalence of violent crime in Indian Country and combat sexual and domestic violence against Alaska Native and Native American women;
• Prevent drug trafficking and reduce rates of alcohol and drug addiction in Indian Country; and
• Increase and standardize the collection of criminal data and the sharing of criminal history information among federal, state, tribal, and local officials responsible for responding to and investigating crimes in Indian Country.

If a Tribal Nation meets specific requirements that ensure the protection of defendants, then their maximum sentencing is increased to three years in jail per offense (with stacking of offenses up to nine years per criminal proceeding) and/or $15,000 per offense.